


let's be forever let forever be free

by Vitali (exocara)



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - The Little Mermaid, Human Prince Yuuri, Little Mermaid Elements, M/M, Mermaid Prince Viktor, there's no ice skating in this sorry. it's singing instead.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-10
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-09-07 17:26:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8809582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exocara/pseuds/Vitali
Summary: Katsuki Yuuri loves the mermaid who used to sing at the beach near his home. Viktor Nikiforov loves the man who basically fell off a ship and serenaded him whilst drunk. Basically, The Little Mermaid AU that no one asked for.





	1. lead me to the land

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thatoneperson](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatoneperson/gifts).



> I know it says that it's a gift work for thatoneperson but i've talked to them so much about this that it's literally cowritten by them. i use lines, ad verbatim, by them in this. 
> 
> also, the other title for this was "ocean man"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the playboy enters the scene

Katsuki Yuuri first meets him near the sea.

Yuuri is a young boy of only twelve, sneaking out of the castle to walk around, when he heard a faint strain melody in the distance.

Yuuri is twelve years old, the prince of the seaside Hasetsu Kingdom, and he has been warned time and time again to be wary of the ocean and the creatures that live within it. While mermaids are technically not supposed to eat the humans in Hasetsu, it doesn’t stop the occasional stray one from trying their luck.

Still, even with all these facts swirling around in his head, Yuuri finds himself moving closer to the song, one step at a time, almost like his body was not his to control.

The melody is louder now, and Yuuri is familiar enough with music to know that this voice is not traditionally beautiful, not by any human standards at least, but god if it isn’t beautiful anyway.

It is haunting, otherworldly and ethereal, and Yuuri is but a fly caught in the web of the siren’s song, powerless to do anything but move closer to the source.

On a rock situated right in the middle of the shore and the sea, Yuuri sees a humanoid figure. He creeps closer and something shifts--

A tail.

Yuuri is suddenly aware of the way his skin crawls as song washes over him, curls around him, and beckons him to come closer and closer.

The mermaid continues singing, his long locks of silver hair illuminated by the soft, romantic light of the full moon and Yuuri hides behind a rock. His heart pounds and guilt pricks at him as he thinks about the way he is spying on the mermaid but the song is so enchanting that the idea of leaving does not cross his mind even once.

The mermaid’s song plucks at the strings of Yuuri’s heart because even if he does not understand the language of the song, the raw emotion embedded in the mermaid’s voice is more than enough for Yuuri to understand. An emotional connection, albeit as one sided as it is, has been established between Yuuri and the mermaid just with _this song_ and Yuuri is in awe.

 _This is what music is about_ , he thinks. _The ability to touch someone’s heart through song._

No matter how many lessons he took, how long he practiced, Yuuri knows he will never be able to reach such a level of performance.

He stays behind the rock until the last notes of the song were sung and the mermaid dives back into the sea. He stays behind the rocks until the first cries of birds are heard and the rays of the sun warm up his cold body. He stays behind the rock until the palace guards find him and drag him back home and all he thinks about is the mermaid and the mermaid’s song.

The next night, he sneaks back out to hear the mermaid sing again, and again, and again.

-o-

Viktor Nikiforov first meets him near the sea.

Viktor, twenty-seven years old, had just had his meal when he catches sight of a sizeable ship not too far from the shore.

Viktor is twenty-seven years old with the entire sea in the palm of his hands and he is so, terribly, _bored_.

He eyes the ship contemplatively and Yuri _glares_ at him.

“You cannot be possibly thinking of doing this,” Yuri says.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Viktor lies and swims towards the ship. Yuri curses at him under his breath, but follows him.

The ship is a lot livelier up close, laughter and light and brightness that feels a lot like _warmth_ glows from the deck. From below, Viktor can hear the sound of music and laughter and he is gripped with the sudden urge to move closer to the deck, to catch a glimpse of the merrymaking happening above.

Yuri grabs him by the long strands of his silver hair and _pulls_.

Viktor yelps and his hands quickly fly to his head.

“What was that for?” Viktor whines dramatically.

“Humans are dangerous,” Yuri spits out. “You _idiot._ ”

“We have a treaty with Hasetsu,” Viktor says. “They don’t harm us.” What Viktor doesn’t say is that he is very capable of handling a few stray humans, especially in his domain of the sea. It wouldn’t even his first run-in with humans, having spent lots of time in his rebellious teenage years singing dangerously close to the shore, revelling in the adrenaline rush that came with it.

“Yes, but the people on this ship may not belong to Hasetsu,” Yuri says. Viktor opens his mouth -- to agree, to refute, he does not know -- when there is a sudden _splash_ right beside them. The both of them turn slightly just in time to see a young man slip under the waves.

Mermaids don’t usually rescue drowning humans, but Viktor is so, _so_ bored.

It doesn’t take long for him to resurface once again, one arm wrapped around the young man’s waist.

“You’re a fucking idiot,” is all Yuri tells him because he knows that he cannot stop him. “I’m not sticking around to see the aftermath.”

“Alright! See you later, Yuri!” Viktor would wave goodbye as Yuri dives back underwater but he is suddenly preoccupied as a pair of wet arms curl around his shoulders and warm breath fans against his neck.

“You’re beautiful,” the young man breathes out reverently, brown eyes wide and a pink flush on his face as he leans his forehead against Viktor’s. One of his hands move towards Viktor’s face, caressing his cheek gently, and Viktor--

Viktor has been called beautiful before, but never quite like this, like the quiet fond murmur of a lover’s words whispered into his ear. Never so _intimately_ and Viktor has to fight back a blush.

“We need to get you to shore,” Viktor tells the young man in human tongue. The young man hums and leans back, burying his face against the side of Viktor’s neck. This time, Viktor _does_ blush but it is easier to swim towards land when his vision is not occupied by a cute face.

Little puffs of air blow at Viktor’s skin as he feels the young man mouth against him. He tries so hard to ignore the sensation that it takes him a while to realise that the young man is singing and even longer to realise _what_ the young man is singing.

“ _Con una spada vorrei tagliare_ ,” the young man’s voice is rough and husky, words slightly slurred, “ _quelle gole che cantano d'amore_.”

Something in his chest tightens as he realises that the young man is singing _his_ song, Stay Close to Me and Never Let Go.

It’s harder, now, to swim the young man to shore, with Viktor hyperaware of every word coming out of the young man’s mouth, the way his lips move against his skin, and warmth pressed up against his cold-blooded body. Everything is all horribly distracting and Viktor wants nothing more than to drown in it and take the young man with him.

It is not the most polished performance Viktor has ever heard, but he can’t recall the last time music has made him feel so _alive_.

Suddenly, the young man draws back, leaving Viktor colder than usual. He doesn’t need to miss the young man’s warmth for long, however, as both of his hands are on either side of Viktor’s head again, cradling his face.

“Marry me,” he says. Viktor can almost taste the bitterness of alcohol and the salty tang of the sea as the young man leans in close and

Passes. The fuck. Out.

He is now limp in Viktor’s arms, leaving Viktor irritatingly aroused and very confused. A moment passes and the young man doesn’t move, his snores filling the air. Viktor sighs and continues his swim towards the shore.

He has no idea who this man is, but he is a splash of color into his otherwise dull and monochrome world, a breath of life in the stale and repetitive kingdom he lived in. And he would be _damned_ if he didn’t at least pursue that spark.

Viktor leaves the young man on a rock he knows wouldn’t get hit by the tide and leaves, brain already racing with ideas and wondering just what he needs to give up in order gain the ability to walk on land with his own two legs.

-o-

Katsuki Yuuri is twenty-four years old when he meets the mermaid a second time.

He walks through the small kingdom his family governs over and sees a small crowd of people in the town square. Curious, Yuuri moves closer and tries to peer over the heads of others. He manages to catch sight of some movement, a flash of silver, and then he has to take a step back to steady himself as someone throws themselves at him.

Yuuri freezes up, looks down, and his heart stutters when he catches sight of that unique shade of silver that is so very familiar to him. The person might have the flowing locks of the mermaid but mermaids do not go on the land and Yuuri uses that knowledge to suppress the rapid beating of his heart.

Then the person looks up at Yuuri, smiling a heart-shaped smile, and Yuuri’s brain immediately screeches to a halt.

“What,” he splutters out. “What are you doing here?!”

The mermaid’s -- although is he still a mermaid if he has a pair of very human feet? -- smile falters and loses its heart-like shape. Something flickers through his eyes as the mermaid pulls back from Yuuri.

Yuuri immediately misses the contact.

“You…” Yuuri begins before he realises that everyone is staring. Most are staring at the mermaid but some are also staring at Katsuki Yuuri, the prince of their small kingdom of Hasetsu, and Yuuri can already feel the familiar build-up of anxiety in his chest.

So he grabs the mermaid by the hand and runs.


	2. imbibed by the sand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yuri the very angry fish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i retconned viktor's long hair back in because i love it too much for it to be taken away

They end up near the sea.

The atmosphere of the beach is vastly different in the daytime, with the sun shining bright and mercilessly. Unlike the gentle moonlight, there are no soft shadows cast by the sun’s rays that you can hide in.

“You’re the mermaid, aren’t you?” Yuuri asks. The mermaid nods. “Then why do you have legs?”

The mermaid gesticulates wildly and enthusiastically, somehow pointing at himself, Yuuri, and the sea all at one go. Yuuri wonders why the mermaid does not use his words before realizing that he probably _cannot_ use his words.

“What happened to your voice?”

The mermaid pauses in his pantomiming for a brief moment before restarting with even more vigour. Yuuri has to give him an A for effort, but he still has no idea what the mermaid is trying to convey to him. Or what his name even is.

“Viktor!” a very angry voice screams. It is accompanied with the incredibly strange, and almost out of place, sound of something wet slapping against the sand, repeatedly. Yuuri looks around but sees nothing. The mermaid, on the other hand, hits the open palm of his hand with his fist and his entire visage lights up. He opens his mouth but nothing comes out.

“Viktor!!” the voice screams again. It sounds louder this time. Yuuri looks in the direction of the source to see a small mermaid with blonde hair painstakingly flopping about, trying his utmost best to make his way inland.

“Do you… know him?” Yuuri asks. The mermaid nods his head and waves energetically at the blonde mermaid. He makes no other movement.

Yuuri looks at the blonde mermaid’s pitiful attempts at moving towards them and asks, “Should we, maybe, go to him?”

The mermaid beams at Yuuri and grabs Yuuri’s hand, leading him closer to the blonde mermaid. Once they are closer to the blonde mermaid, the mermaid kneels down so that they are eye level with each other, and smiles once again.

The blonde mermaid immediately brings his head forward sharply, crashing it against the mermaid’s skull. The mermaid jolted and fell back, landing on his butt and rubbing his forehead with a pout on his face.

 _“You’re a fucking_ **_dumbass_ ** _, Viktor!_ ” the blonde mermaid yells in the mermaid’s tongue. He is very loud and actually kind of intimidating. _“I can’t believe you left the sea! Can you even come back?_ ”

The mermaid -- and Yuuri supposes his name is Viktor -- just gives a very unconcerned shrug. It serves to infuriate the blonde mermaid even more and he starts yelling again, this time entirely too fast for Yuuri to decipher and understand. In the middle of his rant, the blonde mermaid makes accidental eye contact with Yuuri and he just. Stops.

There is silence on the beach, save for the cawing of seagulls, before the blonde mermaid turns back to Viktor. His face is very blank.

 _“Him_ ,” the blonde mermaid says. Viktor nods. _“Him,_ ” the blonde mermaid repeats incredulously. He looks at Yuuri. Yuuri simply looks back, unsure of what was wrong.

 _“He’s a little piggy!_ ” the blonde mermaid exclaims and Yuuri blinks. That was, actually kind of insulting?

As the prince of Hasetsu, it was mandatory for Yuuri to know enough about mermaid culture and their language to communicate with them. Part of the treaty between Hasetsu and the mermaids on their side of the ocean would be for Hasetsu to provide the mermaids with food so that they didn’t go around seducing and eating random humans. What Hasetsu usually provided was pork, pig meat, and hence the blonde mermaid calling Yuuri ‘piggy’ was a little…

 _“My name is Yuuri,_ ” Yuuri says in mermaid’s tongue, making both the blonde mermaid and Viktor’s gazes snap to him. The blonde mermaid looked like something had run over his tail, while Viktor looked like Yuuri was everything he had ever wished for rolled into one convenient little package. Yuuri doesn’t know which one unsettles him more.

 _“I, uh, I want to know what happened? I, well,_ ” Yuuri stutters out in very basic mermaid tongue. _“Viktor, is that his name? He was a mermaid right? What happened to him? What happened to his voice?_ ”

The blonde mermaid takes in a deep breath. He exhales.

 _“Viktor got a damn spell cast onto him that took away his voice,_ _and his tail. Just look at him!_ ” The blonde mermaid points at Viktor’s feet. _“He’s got_ **_legs_ ** _._ ”

Yuuri looks at Viktor. Viktor shifts, gaze skittering away.

 _“He is…_ ” Yuuri searches for the right word. He can’t quite remember how to say ‘alright’ and its synonyms in mermaid tongue. _“...pretty?_ ” he tries.

Viktor’s entire face turns blue and Yuuri has a split second of panic before he remembers that mermaids blush blue.

The blonde mermaid looks disgusted.

 _“Whatever. In any case, I’m here to take Viktor back to the sea with me,_ ” he says. Viktor’s eyes turn wide at that and he quickly shakes his head violently. The blonde mermaid doesn’t listen and, in an alarming display of strength, especially for that of a literal fish on land, he grabs Viktor and hurls him into the sea. Viktor lands with a _splash_ and does not resurface.

 _“Will he be… safe?_ ” Yuuri asks, a little worried.

 _“You don’t forget how to swim, even if you lose your fins,_ ” the blonde mermaid replies curtly. _“Besides, that place is rather shallow. He’ll be surfacing any moment now._ ”

Half a minute passes.

 _“Um_ ,” Yuuri says. He looks at the blonde mermaid and sees an expression of dawning horror on his face.

 _“He, that piece of--_ ” the blonde mermaid says a word that Yuuri _knows_ to be a swear word. _“He traded his--_ ” another word, but this time Yuuri doesn’t know what it means.

 _“Viktor’s going to drown!_ ” the blonde mermaid yells, trying to flop back into the sea. Yuuri’s eyes widens at those words and he hurriedly runs towards the sea.

-o-

Viktor wakes up to see the face of an angel.

 _“Are you…_ ” the angel pauses for a moment. He appears frustrated. Viktor opens his mouth, wanting to soothe the angel, but his voice doesn’t work.

Immediately, everything comes rushing back to him. The bargain, the spell, the painful feeling of his tail splitting apart, the witch telling him _“You cannot go back to the sea or you will die_.”

And, of course, Yuri throwing him into the ocean.

Viktor settles with giving Yuuri a bright smile.

Yuuri sags with relief. His fingers are gently carding through Viktor’s hair and Viktor leans into the touch. He realises that he’s on Yuuri’s lap. This is simply a dream come true.

 _“So he is cursed?_ ” Yuuri says to someone. Viktor would turn to see who it is but that would mean sacrificing the feeling of Yuuri playing with his hair, so he stays put.

 _“You can put it that way,_ ” the ‘someone’ replies and, oh! It’s Yuri!

 _“Oh_ .” Yuuri is worrying his bottom lip as he gazes towards the sea. “ _So we need to break it for him to._ ” He pauses. _“...sea again?_ ”

If Viktor could coo at him, he would. A human who knew the mermaid tongue was rare and Yuuri is already doing such a fine job at speaking in it. Viktor spares a moment to wonder how his name would sound like on Yuuri’s tongue.

Yuri snorts. _“You mean ‘return to the sea’ and yes, you’re right. Viktor would die if he went back to the sea like this._ ”

Yuuri seems distressed at the very idea. Not wanting to see that expression on Yuuri’s face any longer, Viktor reaches a hand up to cup Yuuri’s cheek and he smiles. A moment passed in which Yuuri blankly stares at Viktor, and Viktor almost withdraws his hand, the echo of _“What are you doing here?!”_ in his head, but Yuuri smiles back warmly and Viktor sighs softly in relief.

The moment is ruined by Yuri splashing water on them.

Viktor reluctantly sits up and finds that they are at the place where the ocean touches the shore, with Viktor and Yuuri on land and Yuri in the shallows of the sea. Yuri looks extremely unimpressed.

 _“So, how do we break your curse?_ ” Yuri asks.

Viktor hums, placing a finger to his lips as he thinks, and then draws a heart in the sand. Yuri squints at it.

 _“You need to eat a heart?_ ”

Viktor shakes his head and his arms form an ‘x’ in front of him. He touches his chest, makes a heart with his hands, and then points to Yuuri. He chances a glance at Yuuri shyly, wondering if he understood what Viktor was trying to convey, but Yuuri just looks very confused.

 _“What?_ ” Yuri asks, also confused. Viktor sighs and draws a person in the sand. He accidentally gives it a tail but doesn’t bother to correct the mistake. He gestures to the drawing and then at himself. He draws a heart next to the person and then yet another person, this time with legs and a pair of glasses just like Yuuri’s.

 _“You need to heart someone?”_ Yuuri asks. Viktor thinks about pulling his hair out of his head but refrains. His hair is already thinning out; he doesn’t need to speed up the process.

 _“Oh!_ ” Yuri seems to have got it. _“You need to bone someone!_ ” No!!!!!

Viktor sulkily messes up his sand drawings.

 _“Maybe the curse makes him hard to explain?_ ” Yuuri says awkwardly and Viktor drops his head into his hands. It isn’t that difficult to figure out! He just needs Yuuri to marry him or something!

 _“Your broken mermish is really horrible, you know that?_ ” Yuri says to Yuuri. Wow, that was kind of confusing to think. _“But yeah, that’s probably it._ ”

Viktor looks up at the sky in silent prayer to give him the strength to pull through his ordeal with all the strands of his hair intact.


	3. To the childlike man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri Suffers™
> 
> [warning: there's this super embarrassing scene in the bath that is DEFINITELY not rated M at all, but i got second hand embarrassment writing it so]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so i don't explicitly say it but the mermaids speak this verse's equivalent of russian and hasetsu's kingdom speaks the verse's equivalent of japanese. viktor and yuuri are not speaking in japanese, though, and are speaking in human-common. 
> 
> i won't go into details about languages here but that's my own personal worldbuilding. 
> 
> this chapter is early because i don't have self-control

After much discussion with the blonde mermaid -- who is  _ also _ named Yuri, which is a major coincidence -- they came to an agreement to allow Viktor to stay with Yuuri until they found a way to break the curse. 

As Viktor and Yuuri walk through the castle Yuuri lives in, he sees Viktor looking around, taking in everything with wide, sparkling eyes. It’s rather endearing and Yuuri can feel his heart swell with affection for Viktor, which is. A really bad idea, honestly. Yuuri is here to help break Viktor’s curse, not fall in love with him. 

His parents have accepted Viktor with open arms, uncaring as to where he comes from or his inability to use his voice, not that Yuuri expects anything else. 

Still, it is a little concerning how unfazed by everything they are. 

“Yuuri, Viktor seems to be having trouble with the rice,” his mother says. Yuuri looks at Viktor to him using his hands to pick up the grains one by one and put them in his mouth. They are having katsudon for dinner and Yuuri should have realised that mermaids and humans do not eat in the same way. 

“Viktor,” Yuuri says and waits for Viktor to look at him. He then picks up his chopsticks and demonstrates how to eat. 

Viktor stares at him, and then at his own chopsticks. Yuuri knows then that Viktor has absolutely no idea what to do. Without much thought, Yuuri picks up Viktor bowl and chopsticks, and scoops up some rice, holding it in front of Viktor. 

A light dusting of blue appears across Viktor’s cheeks, but he leans forward to close his lips around the spoon, shyly looking up at Yuuri through his long silver lashes the entire time. That must be uncomfortable. 

Yuuri spends the entirety of dinner switching between eating and feeding Viktor food, resolving to teach Viktor how to use eating utensils at the earliest opportunity available; this arrangement seems a little too bothersome for the both of them. 

-o- 

After dinner, Yuuri brings Viktor to the communal bathing area. Viktor looks curiously at the showerheads and knobs and Yuuri can almost see the gears in Viktor’s head turning rapidly. Apparently, mermaids did not bathe. That is understandable, considering that they live in water. 

Looking away, Yuuri gestures to Viktor to take off his clothes. Viktor doesn’t move, squinting in confusion. With a slight blush, Yuuri takes off his own clothes, prompting Viktor to blink. His eyes then light up and Yuuri assumes that Viktor now understands what he has to do. 

That is not the case, however, as it is only moments later that approximately one hundred and eighty centimetres of mermaid-turned-human brings him to the ground. He ends up on his back with a very naked Viktor straddling him with a smile. 

Yuuri’s entire face turns red. 

“G-get off!” he spluttered, shoving Viktor away. He scrambles to his feet and quickly grabs a towel to tie around his waist. 

When he turns back to Viktor, Viktor is sitting on the floor with his legs splayed out and pouting. Yuuri respectfully keeps his eyes above Viktor’s waist as he gives Viktor a towel. 

“You need to tie it around your waist,” Yuuri tells him. “It’s basic decency.” 

Viktor tilts his head to the side, not understanding the word ‘decency’ in human-common tongue. Yuuri searches his brain for a word close to it and finally settles with saying “ _ manners _ ” in mermaid tongue. 

Viktor nods in understanding and stands up to tie the towel around his waist. After doing so, he looks at Yuuri, as if saying ‘Now what?’. 

“Now, you… get yourself clean.” Yuuri walks over to one of the showerheads and turns it on. A spray of water shoots out and Yuuri turns around to see Viktor’s eyes  _ sparkling _ . 

Excitedly, Viktor approaches the showerhead and turns the knob. The water comes out with more force, crashing onto Viktor’s head and making him yelp and stumble backwards. He trips over the stool close to the showerhead and falls flat on his butt. Yuuri hurriedly turns off the showerhead and kneels next to Viktor. 

“Viktor, are you okay?” he asks, brushing the long, wet strands of Viktor’s silver hair back from Viktor’s face. Viktor’s blue eyes appear dazed, although they quickly snap back to their original clarity when they land on Yuuri. Yuuri repeats his question again and Viktor nods, allowing Yuuri to breathe a sigh of relief. 

Yuuri stands up, helping Viktor up as well. 

“Let’s try again,” Yuuri suggests. 

Viktor turns the knob of the shower a little slower this time and, once the water is at an ideal pressure, he turns to Yuuri for the next step. Yuuri picks up the bottle of body soap and gestures to Viktor to hold out his hands. Once Viktor does so, Yuuri squeezes a bit of soap onto Viktor’s open palms. Viktor gazes at it curiously. 

“Okay, and now you just kinda…” Yuuri awkwardly mimes putting soap on his body. 

Viktor reaches out to rub his soapy hands over Yuuri’s shoulders and chest and Yuuri’s scream echoes in the four walls of the communal baths. 

-o-

Ironically, Yuuri feels a lot more stressed coming out of the baths compared to how he felt going into them. 

Viktor is currently dressed in a green yukata and Yuuri in his own pyjamas. Yuuri makes a mental note to get some new clothing for Viktor soon. 

His mind runs on autopilot, thinking about the things he would have to do tomorrow, and he doesn’t realise where his feet is taking him until he arrives in front of his own bedroom instead of the room that had been prepared for Viktor. 

“Um,” Yuuri says. Viktor simply pushes open the door and walks in. Yuuri supposes that that’s alright, since mermaids don’t have doors and probably don’t have a sense of privacy as well. 

“This is my room,” Yuuri tells Viktor. Yuuri’s room is simple, with the largest furniture in it being a relatively small bed pushed up against the wall and a desk littered with sheets of paper filled with scrawled song lyrics and musical notes. 

“And that’s  _ my _ bed,” Yuuri says as Viktor jumps onto it, nuzzling into the pillow and burrowing under the blankets. “That’s okay I guess,” Yuuri continues in a mumble. “I guess I can just sleep at the room that was  _ prepared for you _ .” 

As he makes to leave, Viktor jumps out of the bed and grabs his hand. 

“Is… Is something the matter?” Yuuri asks. Viktor gently pulls Yuuri back into the room. If Yuuri tried, he could easily break free and walk away but instead he allows himself to be pulled. “You don’t want to be alone?” 

There is a slight pause before Viktor nods. Yuuri supposes that it is only fair to keep Viktor company, considering that, to Yuuri’s knowledge, this is Viktor’s first night on land. It must be frightening to Viktor and Yuuri isn’t so mean as to just leave Viktor alone when he’s asking for company. 

“Alright then.” Yuuri moves to his closet to take out a futon and places it on the floor beside his bed. It’s a little dusty but that’s the best he could do on such short notice. 

Viktor settles back in Yuuri’s bed and Yuuri lies on his futon. A moment later, Viktor’s head popped over the edge of the bed, his long hair hanging on either sides of Yuuri’s face as Viktor looks at him with a quizzical, almost frustrated, expression. 

“Don’t mind me,” Yuuri tells him. “Just go to bed. 

A moment passes and Viktor eventually retreats. Yuuri turns over, so that his back is facing Viktor, and places a hand over his chest in an attempt to calm his rapidly pounding heart. 

-o- 

Yuuri wakes up. The room is dark and the ground beneath him is soft. He forces open his heavy eyelids and manages to make out someone’s neck and collarbones. There is a weight on his head and Yuuri assumes that the person that has their arms and legs wrapped around Yuuri is also nuzzling his head. The person is pleasantly cool, with their long strands of hair draped over Yuuri. 

Yuuri pulls away a little and looks up to see the moonlight illuminating Viktor’s sleeping face. Ah, so it’s a dream. 

Yawning, Yuuri moves himself closer into Viktor’s embrace and falls asleep. It he didn’t know any better, he could have sworn that Viktor’s arms tightened around him. 

-o- 

It was not a dream. 

Yuuri screams once again. 

-o- 

Seducing Katsuki Yuuri --  which is, by the way, the name of the wonderful human Viktor is currently with -- is an impossible task. Still, it is a task Viktor continues to endeavour in. Still, he doesn’t know how more forward he can be with his actions. Being unable to use his own voice, especially after he has been unknowingly relying on it for so long, is such a hassle. 

_ “Don’t underestimate the importance of body language,” _ Chris had said.  _ “You’ll have your little human falling for you in no time.” _

That had been a load of lies. Viktor demands a refund. 

Viktor sits in the empty dining room, a plate of easy-to-eat food in front of him. Viktor thinks he remembers hearing Yuuri call it ‘pancakes’. Viktor appreciates the effort Yuuri puts in to make his life as easily as possible, but he just wishes that Yuuri is here to feed him, just like he did last night. 

As Viktor contemplates pretending to be unable to use a fork, despite Yuuri’s very effective teaching, Yuuri walks into the room, holding a few books in his arms. Viktor perks up at that and waves to Yuuri, smiling brightly. Yuuri meets his gaze and goes red, looking away. Viktor’s smile drops. 

After Yuuri had screamed upon waking up, Viktor notices that Yuuri has been very skittish around him, refusing to meet his eyes and going red whenever Viktor goes close to him. Viktor wonders what he did wrong, and what he can do to make things better. 

“Do you know how to read any kind of human language?” Yuuri asks. Viktor shakes his head. There was no need for mermaids to learn to read written language considering that there is no need for writing under the sea. 

“Oh, okay.” Yuuri sits down opposite Viktor and opens one of the books he brought in. “Thank god I brought some picture books.” 

Viktor wonders what Yuuri is trying to do. 

“It might be difficult for you to communicate with us because of your… lack of voice, but I can teach you a bit of sign language so that you can, yeah…” Yuuri trails off. “It’s not much but at least you’ll be able to tell us things like ‘food’, ‘water’, and stuff.” 

Viktor beams at Yuuri and ducks his head. The tips of his ears turn red and Viktor doesn’t miss the somewhat pleased tone in his voice as he says, “Don’t expect too much from me, though. I’m not very good.” 

-o- 

“Viktor,” Yuuri says as he walks into the room. “There’s a witch that lives near the sea and he says he’s available for consultation tomorrow. Do you want to go meet him tomorrow?” 

A witch that lives near the sea? That sounds like Chris! Of course Viktor would want to meet him! Maybe Chris would be able to tell Yuuri that Viktor agrees to marrying him! 

Viktor nods enthusiastically and Yuuri smiles back at him. 


	4. take me by the hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri why are you like this

The next morning starts with Viktor being licked awake. He opens his eyes to see a furry brown face before he is licked again. The creature is standing on him, a relatively heavy weight pressing on his chest, and Viktor has the passing thought that he is going to die in Yuuri’s bed, with Yuuri in his arms and an adorable brown thing licking his face. 

What a good way to die. 

The brown creature let out a sound and turns its affections to Yuuri. 

“Mm, Vicchan,” Yuuri mumbles sleepily. The brown creature lets out the sound again, its tail wagging, and continues licking Yuuri with more fervour. “Vicchan!” Yuuri is laughing now and Viktor would do anything to hear that sound every day for as long as he lives. 

Yuuri eventually pries his eyes open. He is smiling as he looks at the creature, Vicchan, and the smile only grows when his gaze shifts to Viktor. 

“Viktor,” he breathes, almost reverently, as he reaches out a hand to brush the hair back from Viktor’s face. Viktor turns his head to nuzzle into it, leaving a kiss on Yuuri’s palm. 

It is in that very moment that Yuuri’s eyes grow incredibly wide, his entire face turning incredibly red, and he throws himself so far away from Viktor that he tumbles over the side of the bed and down onto the futon he placed next to it. 

Viktor wonders what he did wrong this time. 

The door opens with a hissed whisper of “Vicchan!” and both Yuuri and Viktor turn to see Mari standing in the doorway. Vicchan cheerfully jumps off the bed and bounds towards Mari, its tongue lolling out as it pants. Viktor thinks it looks happy. 

“Oh, you’re awake,” Mari says to Yuuri. 

“I’m awake,” Yuuri confirms. His eyes are fixed on Vicchan. “So he’s okay?” 

“Yeah.” Mari ruffled Vicchan’s fur. “It would take more than an illness to kill this old dog.” So the cute brown creature is a dog! 

“That’s great.” A previously unseen and unnoticed weight seems to drop from Yuuri’s shoulders. “That’s great,” he repeats. 

Viktor leans over the side of the bed and pokes Yuuri in the face. Yuuri jolts, as if just remembering that Viktor is in the room, and blushes to his ears again. 

“Um, Vicchan is my dog,” he explains. “He got really sick a few days ago and we had to send him to a doctor outside of the kingdom to be treated.” 

That makes sense! Vicchan is Yuuri’s precious companion! Viktor has one too; a wonderful nursehound named Makkachin. 

Thinking of Makkachin immediately makes Viktor wilt. Two days has already passed without hide nor hair of Makkachin and Viktor already misses her. Chris had promised that he would send Makkachin after Viktor soon but Chris also promised that Viktor could win Yuuri over with  _ ‘body language _ ’ so Viktor doesn’t really trust Chris anymore. 

“Do you want to spend some time with Vicchan today? I’m sure the both of you really miss one another,” Mari suggests. Viktor sees Yuuri’s eyes visibly light up, but then Yuuri’s gaze skitter over to Viktor and they dull slightly. Viktor frowns. Really, what did he do?

“I can’t. I promised Viktor that we were going to…” Yuuri pauses. Yuuri had explained to Viktor that he doesn’t want to reveal that Viktor used to be a mermaid to anyone to protect Viktor, and Viktor respects that. “To do a thing. We’re going to the beach.” 

“Oh.” Mari blinks once, twice. “Well, if that’s what you want, I can’t stop you. But you need to keep in mind your position, especially with Prince Phichit. If you want him--” and at this, Mari gestures to Viktor with nod of the head “--you’ll have to tell him where he stands as well.” 

“Mari!” Yuuri hisses, face red and tone scandalised. “It’s not like that!” 

“Right.” Mari raises her eyebrows, obviously unconvinced. “I’m just saying. I don’t want you to be hurt and I don’t want you to hurt people too.” 

Viktor is very confused. 

“I--” Viktor catches Yuuri glancing at him. Yuuri stands up and stalks out of the room, grabbing Mari and dragging her down the hall. The door shuts behind them, leaving Viktor and Vicchan in the room. 

Viktor is so very confused. 

-o-

Despite all the surprise cuddling, spontaneous personal space invading, and other actions which Yuuri might have interpreted as flirting if he didn’t already know that it was due to mermaid cultural misunderstandings, Yuuri finds that Viktor is too good to be true. 

After Yuuri managed to interpret what Viktor was trying to convey to him at breakfast -- which was “Spend time with Vicchan! We can go to see the witch later” -- Yuuri, Viktor, and Vicchan spend the entire morning and noon playing near the sea. Yuuri introduced Viktor to the wonders of playing fetch and Viktor became fast friends with Vicchan. 

When Yuuri and Viktor finally arrive at the witch’s house, afternoon had already come. Yuuri stands before the door, shifting nervously. He had never met a witch before, but he supposes that it is inevitable. Royalty always made treaties and deals with magical creatures, and this would be Yuuri’s first experience in a long line of many others. 

Is it possible to get performance anxiety for totally hypothetical future meetings? Yuuri is pretty sure that’s what happening to him now. 

The witch’s house isn’t the dilapidated wooden shack of fairytales. Instead, it is a nice, homely little cottage situated on a cliff overlooking the sea. This does nothing to soothe Yuuri’s nerves. 

Yuuri steals a glance at Viktor only to see Viktor reaching forward to knock on the door. Yuuri’s heart leaps into his throat. No! His heart isn’t prepared yet!! 

The door swings open to reveal a man with two toned blonde and brown hair and hazel eyes, wearing a simple black shirt and grey sweatpants. 

“With how long you were taking, I almost thought that you weren’t coming,” Christophe said. 

“U-um, my apologies Christophe.” Yuuri bows his head slightly and, in doing so, totally misses the look Viktor and Christophe exchange. 

“It’s no problem, Prince Yuuri.” Christophe shifts to allow Yuuri and Viktor into his home. “Come on in.” 

The inside of Christophe’s house is as homely as it looks on the outside, from what Yuuri can see. They settle in the living room, Yuuri sitting on the edge of a large sofa and Viktor settling right beside him, close enough that their knees touch. Yuuri pointedly looks at the large expanse of sofa on the other side of Viktor but Viktor just smiles his close-eyed, heart-shaped smile.

A ‘clink’ draws his attention away from Viktor and Yuuri notices that two teacups on saucers had been placed before them. Viktor claps his hands and takes the cup before Yuuri can say anything. He downs it and Yuuri’s breath catches in his throat. Surely everyone knew that one shouldn’t just take food from strangers so easily, right? But then again, Viktor had followed Yuuri when they had first met without the slightest bit of a struggle. Is it a mermaid thing? Or is Viktor just naturally trusting of everything? 

Yuuri turns to Christophe and sees that he is resting his chin in his hand and looking at Viktor with a fond expression on his face. Something squeezes Yuuri’s heart at that and Yuuri looks down at the table. Of course Christophe would like Viktor. Viktor is like the sun and it is only inevitable that people are dragged into his orbit, unable to resist his natural charisma. Viktor is like the sun, and Yuuri will never be able to have him to himself. 

Not that, not that Yuuri  _ wants _ to have Viktor to himself! He knows his position, and he knows that Viktor will not be happy on the land, unable to use his voice and unable to swim. And it’s not that Viktor  _ wants _ to stay with Yuuri either, because Viktor is totally way out of Yuuri’s league, and-- 

Yuuri inhaled sharply. This isn’t the time for him to wallow, this is the time for him to help Viktor! He can always wallow later, in his room. But, Viktor will most probably sleep in his room again… 

“So, is there anything you need?” Christophe asked, thankfully drawing Yuuri out of his thought-spiral. “I don’t believe that you’d come here just to visit my charming self.” He winks at Yuuri and Yuuri blushes. He looks away and again misses the look Christophe and Viktor exchange. 

“Well, Viktor -- my friend -- is under a curse. We would like to hire your services in helping us break the curse.” 

“Oh-ho, I see.” A smile plays on Christophe’s lips and he stands. Automatically, Yuuri and Viktor rise with him, ready to go to anywhere Christophe might lead them. However, Christophe merely leans over the coffee table and places his hand on Viktor’s shoulder. Viktor is staring intensely at Christophe, and Yuuri feels that same thing squeeze his heart once again. 

“Unfortunately, this isn’t the type of curse I can break,” Christophe says after a few seconds. “It’s an old spell, and only a kiss of true love will be able to return Viktor his voice. You have until the second full moon to lift the spell.” 

“A kiss of true love?” Yuuri is shocked. Why would someone use such an easy to break spell as a curse? Despite the whole ‘kiss of true love’ spiel, all that’s needed is for Viktor to develop feelings for someone and for that someone to develop those same feelings back. 

It is so very easy to develop feelings for Viktor. All that’s left is to find someone Viktor doesn’t mind falling in love with. 

Yuuri looks at Viktor, who seems to be having a conversation with Chris entirely through their eyes, and thinks. 

-o-

Viktor has absolutely no idea what Chris is playing at, but he wants Chris to Stop. 

“Don’t look at me like that,” Chris says. “The human has to figure it out on his own, or it won’t be true love.”

Viktor continues to glare. He immediately drops his glare once a sizeable ball of water floats into the room, carrying Makkachin in it. Makkachin swims up to him and around him a few times and it is almost like he is back in the sea again. 

“Am I forgiven?” Chris asks, an amused smile on his face. “I did promise that Makkachin would be able to follow you, after all, and I delivered.” 

Viktor tries to glare at Chris again, but he finds that he cannot do so when Chris is the one who reunited Makkachin with him. Chris laughs at him. 

“Alright, I’ll help you out one more time, free of charge because we’re friends. I’ll assist you in setting up a romantic romantic boat ride out into the shallows of the ocean and you can kiss Yuuri there.”  

Viktor nods at Chris and gives him a smile to express his thanks. He even clumsily signs “thank you” for good measure, prompting Chris to laugh. 

“It’s no problem, Viktor,” Chris says. “From what I see, the boy’s already smitten with you. I hope you’ll be happy with him.” 

-o- 

It’s perfect. 

They choose a location near Chris’ house, because Chris is a nosy friend that wants to see his work come to fruition, and invite Yuri into their plans. Chris brings out a small wooden boat from somewhere in his house and conjures small balls of lights over the sea. They glow softly, floating just above the waves, and the sight of it is beautiful in itself. 

Yuri doesn’t exactly want to participate in this entire thing, and grumbles the entire way, but he still tries his best. Viktor knows that Yuri cares for him, even if getting Yuri to admit it is like squeezing blood from a stone. 

Yuri’s role in this is to bring up a few bioluminescent jellyfish to loosely surround the boat as it drifts somewhere near the shore. 

And, in that faint glow, Viktor will sit on the boat with Yuuri. The light of the half moon will cast everything in a romantic, silvery glow, and Viktor will lean forward into Yuuri. He will pause, staring into Yuuri’s eyes, silently asking for permission, and Yuuri will close the gap between their lips himself and then they will go back to the shore and get married! 

“It’s a great plan, isn’t it?” Viktor silently asks Makkachin. Makkachin loyally bobs up and down in the water, and Viktor takes it as an agreement. 

The sun had just set when Viktor leads Yuuri to the boat, fingers loosely wrapped around his wrist. Yuuri takes a moment to look at everything and Viktor can tell from the shine in his eyes that Yuuri is clearly awestruck. 

“This is amazing, Viktor!” Yuuri says in a reverent whisper, afraid that if he speaks too loud, he might ruin the magic of the place. “You’re amazing.” 

Viktor preens at the attention. 

“I understand what you’re telling me,” Yuuri says. Viktor smiles widely, taking a step closer to Yuuri, prepare to take him by both hands and lead him to the boat, when Yuuri turns away. 

Viktor freezes. 

“Just a moment! I’ll be right back!” Yuuri says. Viktor is left at the shore, mind blank. His mind is still blank when Yuuri returns with Chris in tow. Chris’ face is as blank as Viktor’s mind as Yuuri helps both of them settle into the boat. Viktor’s mind continues to be blank as Yuuri pushes the boat out and waves at them, telling Viktor ‘Good luck!’ in that adorable voice of his. 

Viktor stares at Chris. Chris stares at Viktor. 

Viktor strongly contemplates hurling himself overboard and drowning in the sea. 

“Well,” Chris says, trying to break the awkward silence. “Not that I’m not flattered by your interest in me, Viktor, but you should already know by now that I’m a married man, and--” 

Viktor pushes Chris off the boat. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nursehounds, aka the fish i chose for makkachin, is also known as the greater spotted dogfish


End file.
